By Gary Barlow

‘Judge not…’
The Bush administration was at it again Feb. 29, kowtowing to Pope “What was so bad about the Dark Ages?” Benedict XVI.

The United States’ new ambassador to the Vatican met with Pope Benny in his palace, listening as the pope told the ambassador of his high regard for the efforts of “so many of your fellow citizens and government leaders to ensure…the safeguarding of the institution of marriage, acknowledged as a stable union between a man and a woman…”

Really? Acknowledged by who? Old homophobes bent on perpetuating a centuries-old legacy of promoting bias and hatred? Old bigots who long for the days when the church could just tell government officials to arrest and burn alive people who disagreed with it on social issues?

And, why, please tell me, does our government not only send an official ambassador to a church but also makes sure to send one whose political views fall in line with the pope’s? I mean, if we’re going to do that, then why doesn’t President Bush appoint an ambassador who supports marriage equality to, say, the Metropolitan Community Church or the Unitarian Church?

When the pope melts all his church’s billions of dollars of gold and donates it to the poor, when he gives the church’s land to the homeless and disadvantaged (the Catholic Church is the world’s biggest landholder), when he apologizes for the church’s role in promoting violence and bloodshed over the centuries, then I’ll think about believing that he could perhaps be a voice for morality and justice. But now? No way…

True royalty
Meanwhile, another relic of Europe’s medieval past actually realizes that this is the 21st Century.

Princess Maxima, the Crown Princess of The Netherlands, is planning to address an upcoming conference of GLBT rights groups in the country, where she plans to speak out on behalf of GLBT equality and sign an accord calling for full inclusion of GLBTs in Dutch society.

Conference organizers say it’s the first time a leading member of any European royal family has taken such steps. Princess Maxima, the wife of Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, is in line to become the next queen of The Netherlands.

The princess agreed to address the conference and sign the accord despite heavy criticism from a right-wing Lutheran sect and Islamic groups in The Netherlands. The Dutch royal family has some history of supporting GLBT rights, with Queen Beatrix speaking out in support of GLBT equality on a number of occasions in the past.

Our allies in democracy
Another prominent Dutch citizen, lawmaker Geert Wildres, said last week that his short film criticizing the Koran and Islamic leaders for promoting violence and intolerance against women and gays is in the final stages of editing.

Wildres wants to air the film on Dutch TV, and it’s already sparked efforts at censorship in Pakistan. The Pakistani government blocked access to the YouTube website last week for a brief period because of what it characterized as “very blasphemous” clips of Wilders promoting his film.

Wildres responded by saying the censorship “shows how pathetic the capacity of Pakistan to absorb criticism of either its government or Islam is.”

“It’s far from a true democracy,” he said. “A real democracy must be able to bear some criticism.”

Wilders said TV or not, his film would be available online when it’s completed.

We’re waiting, Benny…
Authorities in the Croatian capital of Zagreb showed they mean business about combating homophobia in their country Feb. 26 when a 25-year-old man was convicted of trying to attack a gay Pride parade and sentenced to 14 months in prison. The day after the sentence was announced, the state’s attorney’s office there even said it was going to ask the court to increase it.

Josip Situm told the court that as a Roman Catholic he opposed gay rights. Tough, the court said, ordering him to not only go to jail but to undergo psychiatric treatment while he’s there.

Situm was caught last summer as he was getting ready to toss gasoline bombs at Zagreb’s Pride parade. Several people were injured in other attacks against the parade-marchers.

And, no, despite his compulsion to talk about gay issues, so far Pope Benedict has not urged Catholics in predominately Catholic Croatia to refrain from throwing gasoline bombs at gays.